The dream, as flow
Most of the research dealing with the role of daydreaming in recent years consider this phenomenon as a costly cognitive functional disorder. However, from the perspective of the individual, daydreaming is an activity which helps them to better position themselves in life, and one which also carries short- and long-term benefits within it, regardless of it being intentional, or a spontaneous process. Nearly half of our conscious time is spent on it, therefore, we need to have some considerations on how we daydream.
Regarding the phenomenon of daydreaming, there is a consensus between researchers; when our awareness turns towards ourselves due to a lack of either tasks or urges, and finds itself facing an endless stream of thoughts, feelings, and pictures, which seem to be in complete disorder within our heads. As for what function this phenomenon has in our minds, not even a semblance of such a consensus remains. There is no unilaterally used definition, and we may even find different names for the same phenomenon: daydreaming, picture flow unrelated to tasks, spontaneous cognition, self generated thoughts, et cetera.
However, research also identified the fact that nearly half of our conscious time (47%) is spent with this activity. Therefore, it’s completely reasonable to ask if they dreaming really is so useless. If it is, why do we spend so much time with it? Even the earliest of research results pointed towards daydreaming and any activities related to fantasy being cornerstones of key importance in a person’s healthy mental operations. In recent decades, an obvious link was found between a list of competences and characteristics, like impulse control, creativity, the capability of complex thought processes, curiosity, problem-solving capacity, or even planning capability.